Remembering Sunday
by Kenian Rainn
Summary: After a run-in with Elijah, Elena is forced into letting Bonnie erase the compulsion she's under. But Elijah's compulsion isn't the only one that comes unraveled. Spoilers through 2x14. Rated: T. Damon/Elena.


Remembering Sunday

**Pairing – **Damon/Elena  
><strong>Fandom – <strong>The Vampire Diaries  
><strong>Rating – <strong>T  
><strong>Summary – <strong>After a run-in with Elijah, Elena is forced into letting Bonnie erase the compulsion she's under. But Elijah's compulsion isn't the only one that comes unraveled.  
><strong>Warnings – <strong>Some mild language. A little bit of Stefan bashing. Possibly a teeny bit rushed.  
><strong>Spoilers – <strong>Through 2x14.  
><strong>Author's Note – <strong>This is yet another piece of fiction I've written about Elena remembering what Damon said. Enjoy the possibility of what could someday be!

* * *

><p>His heart is racing, but he can't move. He just stares at her, at the scene unfolding before him. She's leaning up against a tree, mesmerized. Elijah's telling her something.<p>

He can't focus hard enough to hear what Elijah's saying. Then he walks away. Suddenly, Damon races into action. He's by her side before she can take another breath. He looks for the necklace, but it isn't there. He curses in his mind, but the words don't come out. "Are you okay?" She's finally breathing. "No." She crumbles into his arms. He holds her closer than ever before.

Then the cavalry shows up – Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline. Stefan gets over to them first. Elena moves from Damon's arms to Stefan's. "What did he do?" Stefan asks. "He told her something, something important, but then he compelled her. I told you she should be drinking the tea!" Damon tosses his bag of weapons aside. "Maybe we can undo the compulsion. You can do it, right?" Damon chuckles bitterly. "So much to learn, little brother. He's an original. Good luck with that."

"I can do it," Bonnie says as she finally arrives at the clearing. "But I'd have to undo all of the compulsion she's ever been under." She shoots a glance at Damon and he's automatically on the defense. _Does she know? _he wonders. _How could she possibly know?_

"Do it," Stefan commands. They sit Elena down. Bonnie puts her hand on the side of Elena's face. Then she starts to mutter some sort of 'witchy chant' that Damon doesn't understand... and then it's done. Tears start to pour down Elena's face. "Do you know where he is, Elena? Where did Elijah take Jeremy?" She looks down at the ground. "He's in the tomb." Stefan and Caroline both disappear into thin air. Damon stays with her. "Come on. Let's go home." He picks her up and takes her back to her house. He goes in through the window and lays her down on her bed. He moves her hair out of her face, but she's fast asleep by this point. He sits down on the floor next to her and watches her sleep for at least an hour before he reluctantly heads to the boarding house.

* * *

><p>She wakes up when Stefan brings Jeremy home and she can't go back to sleep. It's still dark outside, so she just closes her eyes. Dead end memories are suddenly open to her, but Elijah's compulsion isn't the only one undone. In her mind, the memories play out. She looks past Elijah and sees Damon. She gasps and wraps her blanket around her. "You just need to hear it." She closes her eyes even tighter. "I love you, Elena." The words are ricocheting around her head, echoing and overlapping.<p>

"I don't deserve you." She feels a stab of guilt in her chest. "But my brother does." She feels a single tear slide down her cheek. And then another. Before she knows it, her entire face is wet. "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this." She stands up as the last three words crush her heart. "But you do." She can't face the situation. Not now, not today. She feels a rush of adrenaline and she knows she has to get out now.

She pulls on some clothes and puts her hair into a ponytail. She tears a piece of paper out of her diary and scrawls out of message. She tosses the paper on the bed. She grabs her purse and walks outside.

* * *

><p>When Jeremy realizes that she's gone, he calls Stefan, who tells him she's isn't at his place either. Damon and Stefan race to the Gilbert residence. Damon makes it upstairs to her room first. He's worried. <em>Who could have taken her? Elijah – or worse, Klaus?<em>

He sees the piece of paper on her bed. He assumes it's meant for Stefan, but he picks it up anyway. Three words scare him more than any of the other scenarios that ran through his head seconds before. _I remember __everything__._

He tells Stefan she left a note, but he lies about what it said. "She's just off doing something girly. Shopping, getting her nails done, I don't know." Stefan frowns even more than usual. "But after last night... why would she just leave without telling me?" Damon smirks. "Ah, the female mind. Even 160 years isn't long enough to understand it." Stefan just walks way.

* * *

><p>She drives without a destination, five miles over the speed limit. She doesn't know where she's going, but that's the point. She's running from her problems and somehow... that makes her feel better.<p>

She finally reaches Stanley State Park. She pulls into the deserted parking lot and stops her car. She gets out and walks down to the side of the lake. She sits down on the side of the shore and brings her knees up to her chest. She tries as hard as she can to put the words aside, but she can't. _"I love you, Elena."_

A part of her isn't so surprised. She'd always known he cared for her... but love? She always thought he was messing with her. Or playing yet another game with Stefan. Maybe it was because she looked like Katherine. Or because he couldn't have her. But love? He loved her? She never imagined that.

But, even more than that, she was shocked that he made her forget. She was completely vervain free. He could have compelled her to do anything. Absolutely anything. But he didn't. He took it away. He put aside his own happiness for his brother. For her. _"I love you, Elena." _The words are repeating over and over again in her head... but she's starting to like it.

* * *

><p>He's walking around town, whipping his head around whenever he sees someone who looks like her. He doesn't know where she could be. He tried to ask Stefan where her favorite places were, but every word seemed to put him even more on edge. So Damon left the house and checked every corner of the town.<p>

He pulls his cell phone out of his leather jacket pocket and dials her number. He knows it by heart, and he tries not to read too much into it. The phone rings. Once, twice, three times, then her voice mail picks up. He listens to her message, drinking in her voice. He's almost about to leave a message when he decides it could do more harm than good to try and bring her back before she's ready, so he hangs up the phone.

* * *

><p>She takes her phone out of her pocket and checks her voice mail. She listens to three messages from Stefan and cringes when he says he loves her. <em>No messages from Damon,<em> she realizes sadly.

She's finally ready to start heading home. Maybe she make a few stops on the way, or get something to eat, but she's much more prepared to deal with the situation now than she was earlier this morning. She turns the key in her car, but it won't start. Out of gas. Next time she leaves town abruptly, she'll have to remember to fill up the tank.

She takes out her phone and scrolls down to Stefan's name. Right before she presses send, she changes her mind and scrolls back up to Damon's name. She presses send. He picks up after two rings.

* * *

><p>He's decided that Elena is nowhere in Mystic Falls and he's about to give up when his phone rings. "Hello? Elena – are you okay?" He kicks himself internally for sounding so desperate. "Yeah, I'm fine." He smiles. "That's good because I – I mean, Stefan was getting very worried about you." Which was true. But both Damon and Elena know – they aren't talking about Stefan. "I'm pretty sure I saw another frown line forming on his forehead this morning and I know neither of us want..."<p>

"Damon," she interrupts, "My car is out of gas. I'm in Stanley Park. Can you come get me?" He starts running before she finishes the sentence. "On my way." He hangs up the phone.

* * *

><p>She hangs up her phone and then he's there. "Are you sure you're okay? Is anything broken? I could check," he smirks. "You know I'm very good at that..."<p>

"I just needed to think. I'm fine." "Okay then." He walks toward the car. "Well, we should get..." "Why did you make me forget?" He turns back around. "I mean, you stepped aside. That was probably the most thoughtful thing you've ever done for your brother. For anyone. And then you made me forget? Why?" He looks at the ground. "It was the right thing to do."

She grows angry. "The right thing for who? For me?" He looks up at her. "Of course for you!" "How do you know? Why can't anyone let me decide anything for myself! Why would you tell me if you were just going to take it back?" He starts to walk closer to her. "I just couldn't stop myself." He looks back down at the ground, finding his shoes increasingly interesting. "I didn't think you would want to remember." "That's just it. You didn't think, Damon. You didn't even ask me. You should have let me decide."

He steps close to her and then they're almost touching. For a second she thinks he's going to kiss her and for a second she almost wants him to. But he doesn't. Instead, he just whispers into her ear.

"It's always going to be Stefan." He pulls away from her. "Right?"

* * *

><p>He drives her home and they don't say a word the whole car ride. They finally reach Elena's house. They both get out of the car.<p>

"Thank you for rescuing me," she says after a moment. "You know I can't resist a damsel in distress." He smirks and then he's gone.

Words echo in her head again as she lays on her bed. But these words are different.

"_It's always going to be Stefan. Right?"_

* * *

><p>They're in her kitchen a few days later. "I could make you forget again, you know," he says without looking at her. "No," she says firmly. "Someday Bonnie might have to undo it again and then we'd both have to go through this a second time. Neither of us want that." He nods.<p>

She can't explain it, she doesn't know why, but in this moment she wants to kiss him more than ever before. She doesn't, though, because she's scared. She doesn't understand why she's feeling this way. Maybe it's because she knows he loves her and she feels obligated to love him back. Or maybe it's **because** the prospect is so scary.

Maybe she's finally being honest with herself.

His voice breaks into her thoughts. "It doesn't really matter, right? The words didn't mean anything to you. They just bounced off you like they were nothing. I mean, you obviously don't feel the same way about me. Maybe it's better that you know. Now, maybe I can try to move on." He looks so hurt. She never wanted to hurt him, but now it seems like she can't stop. "Maybe," she says weakly and then he disappears, leaving her to wonder if he was ever there in the first place.

* * *

><p>She shows up at the boarding house one night when Stefan's out of town. She lets herself in and sits down next to Damon. He notices her presence immediately, but he waits for her to speak first. After a few minutes she does.<p>

"You're wrong, you know." He doesn't even flinch. "I get that a lot." Then he adds, "About which part?" "I felt something. Those words... they meant something to you and they meant something to me."

A long, uncomfortable pause follows... until Elena finally speaks again. "Can you say it again?" He looks confused, but he still doesn't look at her. "What?" She takes a deep breath. "Can you say it again? I need to hear you say it. I – I need to know it wasn't just a dream. Please."

He waits and waits and after a few agonizing moments, he finally turns to face her. His eye contact is so intense, she can't look away. She doesn't want to look away.

"I love you, Elena."

She had heard him say the words a hundred times in her head, but somehow she's still caught off-guard. Her breath catches in her throat and she turns off all of her rationality. She quickly closes the nine inch gap between them. Before her mind can stop her, she kisses him.

* * *

><p><em>Is this really happening? <em>he wonders. Every inch of him feels like it's on fire. He can't think, so he just focuses on kissing her back. And he feels complete.

Suddenly, she jerks away from him. She stands up and stumbles back a few steps. He stands up and is by her side before she can react. He's not gonna let he get away this time. He can't. For once, he didn't do anything wrong. "Don't run away," he says softly.

"I – I... I," she stutters. He puts his finger on her lips. "Shh..." His finger trails down the side of her face, all the way down her arm. He feels her relax as she closes her eyes. "You don't have to say anything." He kisses her again. They hear the door open, but they don't pay attention until...

"Get away from her, Damon!" Stefan stands in the doorway. Damon and Elena both break apart. "Are you okay, Elena?" he asks. "Yeah, I'm fine, but..."

"You. How could you do this again?" Stefan speeds over to Damon, practically spitting the words in his face. "First with Katherine, now with Elena... why do you need to have everything I do?" He's going to take the fall for her, but he can't get a word out before...

"He didn't do anything, Stefan. It was all me." He looks upset and he walks over to her. "You did what?"

* * *

><p>Before she can do anything, Damon is standing between her and Stefan. "She can make her own decisions, Stef. Ask her what she wants." Damon steps aside. "You want <strong>him<strong>?" She wasn't sure until this moment, but now she can see what she was missing all along. She thought she made the right choice, the safe choice. But she was wrong. "Yes."

Stefan looks even more upset and just walks up the stairs. Elena walks outside. Damon frowns and follows after her. "If you want to change your mind, it's okay. He's right upstairs." She turns and puts her hand on his chest. "I don't want to change my mind. I just... can't believe I was so wrong about him." Damon shakes his head. "Elena, he's just hurt and surprised right now. Give him some time and he'll be back to his broody self." He wraps his arms around her and she relaxes in his embrace. "I love you, Elena." "Maybe you shouldn't."

He pulls back. "What do you mean?" She bites her bottom lip and shrugs her shoulders. "I guess... I just don't want to hurt you." "I don't want to you to hurt me either." He smiles softly.

He puts his hand on her waist. "Just because we're scared... it doesn't mean we shouldn't give this a chance." "I know." "I love you, Elena. And I think you love me too, if you're honest with yourself. We owe it to ourselves to give this a try." She buries her head in his chest. He holds onto her, so afraid he's going to wake up from this wonderful dream. They stand there for what seems like forever. Then they slowly move apart.

"Do you want to come inside?" he teases, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "What, and give your brother a heart attack? No, thank you. I think I'll pass." She smiles.

"Goodnight, Damon," she says as she walks away. Suddenly, he's standing in front of her with one arm around her waist and the other hand on her cheek, kissing her before she even knows he's there. He pulls away far too soon. "Good night, Elena," he smirks before walking back inside. She smiles, turns back and gets in her car.

All in all, a **very** good night.

* * *

><p>Two years after they start dating, Damon and Elena leave Mystic Falls. The supernatural elements have died down and with the constant scrutiny from Stefan, Jenna, and just about everyone else in town, they're ready for a break. First they travel to Europe, then to Asia, sharing things they've never experienced before.<p>

Two years after that, Elena decides she wants to be with him forever. She asks him to turn her, but he refuses. He doesn't want that life for her. She goes against him and finds someone who will. When Damon finds out, he loses control. They break up and go their separate ways.

It's another two years before they find each other again, both more determined than ever to make it work. Life is never easy. But they're willing to try. Neither of them can imagine it any other way.

They have love and right now... that's all that matters.

* * *

><p>There it is! I definitely got obsessed with the idea of Elena remembering for a while, but I think I've gotten it out of my system, for now.<p>

Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought - knowing someone read my story make me smile! : D

Thanks for reading!


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